The DSN digital evolution

Like just about everybody else with a pulse these days, the coolest thing I own is my iPad. I know. How original — me and 53 million other people.

But there’s a reason for that. The iPad reinvents the boring old way we used to do so many things, from how we shop to how we consume media. It is no surprise that iPad users spend twice as much as any other online customer. It’s just so damn easy and cool, and well, fun.

One of my favorite things about the iPad is what it does to magazines. In print, a magazine or a newspaper is just words and graphics. But in the digital world, a magazine becomes a rich user experience with video, audio and photo slideshows that puts the reader inside the story; you don’t just read an article, you become immersed in it. Even the ads come to life. Imagine the possibilities in a B2B environment.

By now you probably have heard something about our new app DSN+. DSN+ is the next step in the digital evolution of Drug Store News. DSN+ works kind of like a QR code reader: use your mobile device to scan an article or a picture from the magazine that has the DSN+ logo, and you’re instantly connected to some cool multimedia content online. Scan the photo on page 16, and watch my video store tour of Walgreens’ newest flagship store in Los Angeles, No. 8,000 for the chain.

In just the first few weeks, we have had several-hundred downloads for DSN+, which is available for free at the Apple store.

Good news: We’re working on an Android version — so stay tuned.

Better news: This is just the beginning. In the months ahead, watch closely as the digital evolution of DSN continues; because every time we improve our business, it’s an opportunity for you to learn more about the business you’re in.

Don’t be left out — download DSN+ today.

CORRECTION:

A photo in the special Business of Beauty report that appeared in the Jan. 14, 2013, issue of DSN (page 21) showed a photo of a beauty adviser from a Pharmaca store although the article focused largely on Target’s Beauty Concierge program. The reference to Pharmaca was inadvertently deleted from the article. DSN regrets the error.

FDA sets generic drug user fee rates for 2013

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has set user fee rates for generic drug companies, the agency said Jan. 27.

The FDA announced that it had published a notice in the Federal Register for companies that make finished dosage forms, meaning drugs in their final form, and active pharmaceutical ingredients, meaning the main ingredients of the drugs.

The fees for domestic factories making final dosage forms and active pharmaceutical ingredients are $175,389 and $26,458, respectively. For foreign factories, the fees are respectively $190,389 and $41,458.

The agency said that under the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments to the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the fee for a factory outside the United States should be $15,000 to $30,000 higher than the fee for a domestic factory.

The FDA said it calculated the fee using data submitted by generic drug facilities through the self-identification process mandated under GDUFA.

Awareness, use of e-cigarettes increasing rapidly, CDC study finds

ATLANTA — The number of adult smokers who had used electronic cigarettes more than doubled in the space of a year, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study found that in 2011, 21% of adults who smoke traditional cigarettes had used the electronic ones, up from 10% in 2010. During the same period, the number of adults who had used e-cigarettes increased among both sexes, non-Hispanic whites, people aged 45-54, people in the South and current and former smokers, though use of e-cigarettes was significantly higher among current smokers than among former and non-smokers. Meanwhile, awareness of e-cigarettes grew from 4-in-10 adults in 2010 to 6-in-10 in 2011.

"E-cigarette use is growing rapidly," CDC director Tom Frieden said. "There is still a lot we don’t know about these products, including whether they will decrease or increase use of traditional cigarettes."

The CDC said that though e-cigarettes appeared to have "far fewer" of the toxins than the smoke of traditional cigarettes, their long-term health effects would have to be studied, and research would be needed to find out marketing of them could affect initiation and use of traditional cigarettes.

The cigarettes — technically known as electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS — work by atomizing liquid that contains nicotine and flavors into a vapor that users can inhale like traditional smoke, though they are designed to be odorless. In recent years, they have been touted as a healthier alternative to cigarettes, and surveys have indicated wide support for this view among consumers. But in addition to the CDC, health agencies like the World Health Organization have warned that their safety has not been demonstrated scientifically, and there could be risks that have not yet become clear due to the devices’ relative infancy. Regulators in countries like the United Kingdom have cracked down on ads that claim e-cigarettes are not harmful, while Israel’s Health Ministry on Thursday recommended subjecting them to the same regulations it imposes on traditional tobacco products or banning them altogether, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

"If large numbers of smokers become users of both traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes — rather than using e-cigarettes to quit cigarettes completely — the net public health effect could be quite negative," CDC Office on Smoking and Health Tim McAfee said.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and singer Diana Ross now feature on the schedule for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, slated for April 21-24 in Palm Beach, Fla.

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